Eureka Moments
by Jedi Buttercup
Summary: Missing scenes from EUReKA Season 3. Last chapter: "Jack waited longer than Henry'd expected to ask about the letter." -3.18
1. Mission: Cheer Up My Dad

**Title**: Mission: Cheer Up My Dad

**Author**: Jedi Buttercup

**Rating**: K+

**Disclaimer**: The words are mine; the world is not.

**Summary**: _The last time Zoe's Dad had gotten depressed, there had been beer on breakfast cereal, S.A.R.A.H. on extreme lockdown, and all kinds of other associated badness_. 900 words.

**Spoilers**: Eureka post-3.1 "Bad to the Drone"

**Notes**: Week 1 entry for the eureka tag community.

* * *

Zoe looked up at her Dad as they walked out of Café Diem at the end of her first day's shift, take two, and frowned a little at the pained expression on his face. Maybe she shouldn't have pointed out what was going on with Allison and Dr. Stark-- though he could hardly have missed it. Still, while she might be a little irritated at him for not getting off his butt and _doing_ something about his Thing with Allison long before things got this far, she wasn't relishing the idea of having to deal with a mopey Jack Carter again, either. The last time her Dad had gotten depressed, there had been beer on breakfast cereal, S.A.R.A.H. on extreme lockdown, and all kinds of other associated badness.

In the interests of not ending up scarred for life, it might be a good idea to come up with something to cheer him up. S.A.R.A.H. might have some ideas; for an A.I., she was pretty observant about people. Which, hey, that reminded her: there was something she'd totally meant to show him earlier, before Vincent's shuttle had turned out to be Martha and he'd ruined everything by sending her home.

"Hey, Dad, wait a minute," she said, stopping short on the sidewalk. "Before we go-- there's something I wanted to show you."

His eyebrows went up, and his expression lightened a little: a good start. "Couldn't get enough of your first day on the job, huh?"

Zoe snorted. "It's not like there aren't going to be other days, unless you get overprotective and ground me again. No, seriously: you have _got_ to see this."

She grabbed him by the hand and dragged him back inside, steering him out of line-of-sight of Allison's table. "Hey, Vin; I'm just going to show my dad your fridge," she called as she walked back around behind the counter.

"Just don't let him touch anything!" Vincent called back as he topped up Dr. Stark's glass of champagne. He sounded just a _tad_ annoyed still over the Mustard Incident earlier, but he'd get over that soon enough, Zoe was sure. As far as business-as-usual in Eureka went, a few stray squirts of yellow ick were really pretty mild.

She grinned briefly at him anyway before turning to open the fridge door. "Don't worry!" she replied. "We'll just be a second!"

"You want to show me his _fridge?_" her dad said, in baffled tones, studying the fairly normal-looking door. "What's so special about it?"

"You tell me," she said, paused a moment for suspense, then threw open the door "Ta da!"

His reaction was exactly what she'd hoped for. "Whoa," he said, stepping forward to get a better view of the rows and rows of shelves stretching into the distance. "How does all this _fit_ back here?" he asked, a wondering expression on his face.

"I have _no_ idea," Zoe said, then stepped forward with him to let the door shut behind them. "I mean, the building sure doesn't _look_ this big from the outside."

"No kidding." Her dad grinned at her then, the clouds clearing from his expression. "I bet you felt like Lucy the first time you came in here."

"Exactly. Total Narnia material," she replied, grinning.

If there was one thing Zoe would never, ever regret about running away from her mom to come back to Eureka, no matter what happened, it would be getting to see this side of her dad. He's been such a serious Officer of the Law practically her whole life; he'd tried not to bring it home, but with every year that had passed he'd been away more and more until she'd just about forgotten what he sounded like when he laughed. Eureka had been good for him, even considering all the crap that came along with being the only average guy in a town full of geniuses.

He made a musing noise and crossed his arms as he considered the apparently endless variety of food products stored in the massive refrigerator. "Huh. I don't know why I'm surprised; the entire town's like this, pretty much. We might as well have fallen through the wardrobe that first day we got stranded here, and if any 'son of Adam' was more surprised to get a promotion to a place that doesn't exist on any maps, you couldn't prove it by me."

Okay, that was getting a little deep for a simple trip into a fridge. Zoe'd been trying to un-depress her dad, not make him all philosophical. "Oh, don't go there," she said, in a deliberately light-hearted tone. "Because that would make you Edmund, and I seriously doubt Allison would enjoy being compared to the White Witch."

"Oh, I don't know. I could do worse than being known as 'Sherriff Carter the Just'. But you're right; if anyone's the White Witch in this town..." He trailed off, chuckling, as he glanced back at the door.

Zoe snickered. He made it so easy sometimes! "Don't go there _either_ Dad, because seriously, I know you get off on challenges, but if he's what you find tempting? I really don't want to know."

"What? _Zoe!_" he spluttered. "I was just going to say, the way Larry was sucking up to that Fixer woman..."

"Sure, sure," she said, nudging him with an elbow.

Mission, cheer up my dad: Success! Zoe thought to herself, and grinned.

-x-


	2. Changing Tactics

**Title**: Changing Tactics

**Author**: Jedi Buttercup

**Rating**: K+

**Disclaimer**: The words are mine; the world is not.

**Summary**: _Perhaps she had been hasty in identifying Sheriff Carter as the town's weak point_. 450 words.

**Spoilers**: Eureka post-3.2 "What About Bob?"

**Notes**: Week 2 entry for the eurekatag community.

* * *

"It's not going to be the same when you're gone," the sheriff said, his words transmitted over the internal network of cameras in Lab 27 to a feed on Eva Thorne's laptop. "Not by a long shot."

Eva sighed in frustration, chin propped on her hand, as she watched Jack Carter and the hologram avatar of his friend, Dr. Deacon, stare off toward the artificial sunset. Their body language indicated a significant level of familiarity; it seemed that even Eureka's jack-of-all-trades and recently revealed traitor had not been untouched by the sheriff's inexplicable brand of charm.

Perhaps she had been hasty in identifying him as the weak point when she'd drawn up her strategy for reshaping the town's operations to her specifications. As the most notable-- and least intelligent-- newcomer in a town largely populated by insular geniuses, fingering him as the scapegoat for her initial changes had seemed like the natural choice. But rather than reacting to the data with suspicion and alarm, the town's notables had closed rank around him instead.

Even Dr. Stark, whom Eva had assessed as a natural ally when planning her approach, had referred to the good sheriff as one of Global Dynamics' "greatest human assets" when she'd seized the chance to get the interfering law officer and his most obvious supporter out of her hair. For all their harsh words and apparent competition over Dr. Blake's affections, Stark and Carter showed the same lack of self-consciousness in one another's personal space as the sheriff exhibited with Blake herself, or Dr. Deacon, or any other of the denizens of the town she'd observed interacting with him.

Quite simply, the man seemed to be everyone's friend. And despite the very real increase in chaos represented by the graph since his arrival, he also seemed to have an improbable instinct for piecing together just the right clues to solve each problem that fell into the town's lap.

A change of tactics seemed to be in order. If Eva couldn't dislodge this potential thorn in her side by brute force methods, perhaps she could distract him instead-- by giving him what he wanted.

Yes, that had possibilities, she concluded. It ought to keep his focus away from her maneuverings and on his personal life instead-- and clearly, the best place to start would be to arrange the pardon and release of Henry Deacon from his prison sentence.

Ah well. She could already see several possibilities for making lemonade from that sour necessity; she had time on her side, and the complete support of the Department of Defense. Her success was guaranteed, despite the initial roadblocks she had encountered.

"Very well," she murmured, and picked up the phone.

-x-


	3. Ulterior Motives

**Title**: Ulterior Motives

**Author**: Jedi Buttercup

**Rating**: K+

**Disclaimer**: The words are mine; the world is not.

**Summary**: _Henry questions Zoe over a cup of coffee in Cafe Diem_. 1000 words.

**Spoilers**: Eureka post-3.3 "Best in Faux"

**Notes**: Week 3 entry for the eurekatag community.

* * *

Henry smiled as Zoe approached his table with a fresh pot of coffee, and nudged his empty mug toward her. "How was your Physics quiz?" he asked with a smile.

Cafe Diem wasn't especially busy at that hour of the evening; more people were staying home than venturing out in the steamy weather produced by the lava currently venting into the lake. Zoe glanced around to double-check her other customers, then smiled back and took her time about refilling his cup. "It wasn't easy, but I think I did all right. Thanks for helping me with that demonstration, by the way."

"No problem," he replied. "It's been awhile since I had a good excuse to demonstrate a little applied physics; it was as much a favor for me as it was for you." And far better as a use of his skills than Eva Thorne's steel-fisted, velvet-gloved requests for favors, he thought sourly.

"Well, thank you anyway," she said with a grin, then tilted the coffee pot back as she finished the refill.

Henry retrieved the cup, wrapping his hands around its surplus warmth, then took a deep breath. There was a question he'd been meaning to bring up that might be more appropriately raised in private, but he didn't know when else he'd be able to catch her without involving Jack in the conversation. "Zoe┘ there's something I've been meaning to ask you. Why do you pretend to be less intelligent than you are in front of your father?"

Zoe flinched visibly, her eyes widening in surprise-- and defiance. "What do you mean?" she asked sharply, frowning at him across the table.

"You don't even understand enough to explain what it is you don't understand?" he chided her gently, bringing up the deliberately airheaded excuse she'd used in front of them both the day before.

Zoe rolled her eyes and huffed, teenage mulishness evident in the tilt of her chin and the hand propped on her far hip. "Look, he pushes me enough as it is. You think it was my idea to enroll in all these advanced classes? All I wanted to do was coast through school-- maybe even _enjoy_ my education-- not try for the Nerd Queen crown. But no; if I want his permission to do anything else, even work at Cafe Diem, I have to take all the hardest classes available. I don't know why he keeps expecting me to succeed."

Zoe's lack of drive in the classroom was something she had probably inherited from her father, Henry suspected. Jack was a hands-on problem solver; detailed explanations and planning sessions always bored him, even when the subject matter was limited to topics he clearly understood. If he'd ever put forth more than the minimum effort required to earn a passing grade in the classroom, Henry would be very much surprised; and the good sheriff was definitely self-aware enough to realize that was a bad habit to be passing on to his daughter.

"He's proud of you, Zoe," he said aloud. "You've faced a lot of challenges since you came to Eureka, and you've surmounted every one of them; I'm sure he just wants to see you continuing to do your best."

"Yeah, well how does he know my best is good enough?" she objected. "What if it isn't? You know how smart the people are in this town, and it's not like I even told him what my real IQ is."

"And why is that?" Henry asked, pinning her with an intent, questioning stare. They were approaching the heart of the problem now, he suspected; and the sad thing was, her attitude was entirely unnecessary. However much of the vanished four years Jack did or did not remember around the effects of Henry's memory eraser, he did clearly retain some impressions of that time; Henry had seen the effects in Jack's reactions to the people around him, including himself, though they had yet to discuss the memory erasure in specific. Jack might not recall his daughter's valedictory speech, but anticipatory pride in her achievements had obviously long since become habit.

"Well-- it's just--" She scowled. "Being smart was never cool-- and never mattered-- until we came here. I had a _life_, not a 4.0 GPA, and that was just how I liked it. Besides, you've seen how people treat my dad, especially lately; it's like because he's only a 111, they can talk down to him like he's an idiot. I don't want him to feel totally alone here, okay?" She glared at him a moment longer, then seemed to realize she was preaching to the choir and rolled her eyes, summoning up a faint smile. "Not to mention-- you've seen what being raving braniacs does to the people around here. I'd like to have at least _some_ chance of turning out like a normal person."

"Hey, I think I resemble that remark," Henry replied, allowing a chuckle. "Just remember he loves you, Zoe, and I think he'd much rather you were honest with him. This might seem like a small issue, but the more you lie the easier it gets, and trust me-- not matter how good your intentions are, you will regret that lost trust very much once it's gone."

She nodded slowly at that comment, then looked down-- and blinked, startled, at the coffee pot still in her hand. "Well! As much as I've enjoyed this way too serious conversation, I'd better get back to work," she said, brightly. "Thanks again for the help."

"And thank _you_ for the coffee," Henry said, saluting her with his cup.

Whether she listened or not, at least he'd made the effort. He cared very much for this town, and most of its residents; and he still found it somewhat miraculous that he was there at all, after almost losing everything.

But only somewhat. Thorne obviously had an ulterior reason to spring him; the sooner he could figure out exactly what it was, the better.

-x-


	4. Not Like This

**Title**: Not Like This

**Author**: Jedi Buttercup

**Rating**: K+

**Disclaimer**: The words are mine; the world is not.

**Summary**: _Jack sat with Allison, heart aching for her as her shoulders shook with sobs_. 300 words.

**Spoilers**: Eureka post-3.4 "I Do Over"

**Notes**: Week 4 entry for the eurekatag community. Sorry for the brevity; I had the hardest time finding any motivation out of this episode. Speaking of which-- warning for mentions of canon character death.

* * *

_Everything is going to work out the way it's supposed to_.

How? Jack wondered to himself as he sat with Allison, heart aching for her as her shoulders shook with sobs. How could this possibly be _the way it's supposed to_...?

He couldn't deny-- not anymore, not even to himself-- the strength of the feelings he held for Allison. If her fears for Kevin hadn't driven her repeatedly into Stark's arms during the mess with the Artifact, he still believed it could easily have been his name next to hers on the marriage license and _Stark_ the man she'd asked to walk her up the aisle. He'd swear on a stack of Bibles that the feelings had been mutual; it was just that, after everything that had happened, her feelings for-- and history with-- Stark had proven to be stronger.

But for all the rivalry-- for all the anger and frustration caused by Stark's smug, possessive comments, and for all the pain Jack had felt at the realization that _he_ had lost the chance to put that blissful curve in Allison's smile-- he had _never_ wished for this outcome.

_Not like this_. If this was "winning", he would have been perfectly content to lose.

Stark's last smile flashed before his mind's eye again, and Jack swallowed thickly, fighting back sudden tears of his own. Never, in all his daydreams of improbable futures, had he ever wished the man _gone_. He was the focal point around which half of Eureka turned; he was G.D.'s top scientist, Henry's student, the only father Kevin had ever known-- and the most entertaining verbal antagonist Jack had sparred with since divorcing Abby.

_See you around, Jack_.

I'll hold you to that, you bastard, he thought, as he fingered the necklace still nestled in his pocket.

-x-


	5. Stages of Recovery

**Title**: Stages of Recovery

**Author**: Jedi Buttercup

**Rating**: K+

**Disclaimer**: The words are mine; the world is not.

**Summary**: _Fargo lifted a hand to wave as Carter walked out, then shook his head, feeling strangely comforted_. 800 words.

**Spoilers**: Eureka post-3.5 "Show Me the Mummy"

**Notes**: Week 5 entry for the eurekatag community. Refers to past canon character death.

* * *

"Hey, Fargo, you awake?"

Doug cracked an eye open and squinted over at the doorway. He'd had a lot of visitors the last couple of days, some of them friendlier than others; fortunately, this time it was Sheriff Carter, not Zane there to tease him about the mummy curse again. He stretched a little, squirming to get more comfortable on the hospital bed, and turned toward his guest. "Hmm, yeah. Just resting my eyes; I'm pretty much napped out. There's not much to do in here, and Dr. Blake says I can't even have someone bring me a laptop until tomorrow."

Carter grimaced sympathetically, approaching the bed. "At the boredom stage of recovery, huh?"

"Yeah." Doug sighed. "I was in the middle of half a dozen projects when I got infected, and who knows what's happened to them while I've been in here." Or how many had been cancelled; he hadn't missed how Thorne had been favoring Zane lately, and he'd really been feeling the pressure to produce results.

Especially after the massive failure of the hugely expensive atomic clock, one of the projects Thorne had really been counting on to boost G.D.'s profile. Doug knew, now, that Dr. Stark was okay-- the glimpse he'd seen of him in his delirium, surrounded by bright light, had settled most of Doug's nagging worries about what had happened to his mentor when their makeshift device had ripped him out of Eureka's timestream-- but the loss still felt raw, and colored Doug's perspective of the entire situation.

"Well, I wouldn't count on going back to work full-time just yet," the sheriff continued. "You came pretty close to getting eaten alive, you know? I'm sure Henry will look after things for you."

"I know." Doug shuddered. "Dr. Blake showed me the security feed from the autopsy tent; it was one of the grossest things I think I've ever seen." All those bugs exploding out of Dr. Marx's body-- that could easily have been him. Would have been, if the surviving members of Global's dream team hadn't figured out how to stop the infection in time.

"I'm glad I missed that part of it," Carter agreed. "I saw the swarm, though; you heard about that, right?" He lifted a hand, waving a clear CD case; the disc inside had some kind of home-printed label on it.

Doug grinned a little, remembering Vincent's complaints earlier that day. CafИ Diem had been reduced to operating from a sadly limited menu thanks to the sheriff's use of the spacious refrigerator as an impromptu extermination device. "Something about you luring them across town with music?"

Carter chuckled. "Yeah, I didn't see that coming. All these years I've been complaining about my sister's crazy hobbies, and one of them ends up saving the town. She's never going to let me forget it, either."

Doug could believe that; the woman had been a little scary when he'd talked to her. Attractive, but scary. "So-- you want me to analyze the music, or something?" He nodded at the CD, which Carter had begun tapping absently against his other hand. "Dr. Wilding told me he's started searching through known hieroglyphic texts looking for any other previously unexplained reference to that swarm-symbol; sooner or later, someone else might dig up the wrong tomb and need to know exactly which harmonics the insects are attracted to."

The sheriff raised his eyebrows at him, then stared down at the plastic case. "Uh, no, actually; though that's probably a good idea." He reached out to hand the CD over with a sheepish grin. "Lexi asked me to bring it by as a get-well present; she said she thought you were a sweet kid, and probably needed to re-center yourself after everything. Since that's what she composed it for in the first place..." He shrugged.

Doug took the CD hesitantly, blushing at the sheriff's words. Sweet? Seriously? He hoped Jo had been around to hear her say that. "Uh, thanks-- I think?"

Carter's grin brightened. "Tell her, not me. _After_ you've listened to it."

Voices picked up in the hall, and the sheriff glanced quickly over his shoulder; then nodded to Doug again. "Feel better soon, okay, Fargo? I haven't had to threaten to kill you in weeks; I'm actually starting to miss it."

Doug lifted a hand to wave as Carter walked out, then shook his head, feeling strangely comforted by the teasing. The sheriff had been practically treating him with kid gloves the last couple of weeks, and it had gotten worse when he'd been sick; maybe he'd been trying to reassure him, or something, but Doug had found it more creepy than anything.

Maybe things weren't back to normal yet, but they were getting there. One day-- and one Global Dynamics disaster-- at a time.

-x-


	6. Woman, Wondering

**Title**: Woman, Wondering

**Author**: Jedi Buttercup

**Rating**: FR7

**Disclaimer**: The words are mine; the world is not.

**Summary**: _Allison bit her lip, trying not to let herself hope too soon_. 700 words.

**Spoilers**: Eureka post-3.6 "Phased and Confused"

**Notes**: Week 6 entry for the eurekatag community. An attempt at working out Allison's motivations, because her behavior has been rather variable. Refers to past canon character death.

* * *

"I'm not sure how much more of this I can take," Allison murmured, watching anxiously as Henry attempted to stabilize Chuck's phasing with their carefully-designed frequency shifting treatment. There were no signs of increasing decoherence as yet, but it would be another minute or two before they could be certain the cure had worked.

She hadn't meant for anyone to overhear her, but Henry shot her a speaking glance over his shoulder at her words, dark eyes warm with commiseration. Allison gave him a thin, tense smile; she knew he missed Nathan very nearly as much as she did, and had worked closely with Jack ever since the sheriff's arrival in town. If there was anyone in Eureka likely to understand the way she was feeling at the moment, it would be Henry.

So how did he deal with it? How could he be so calm about Carter just-- charging in like that, making life-or-death decisions and acting on them as easily as if he were flipping a coin? Sooner or later, that coin would have to come up tails. Nathan's had. So what made Carter think he was invincible?

Seconds were passing; Henry glanced at his chronometer, and his smile grew a little more genuine. "I think it's working," he said, nodding to Chuck. "Just a minute longer-- then we'll get you out from under the hollow cathode lights and test it."

Chuck closed his eyes, relief stamped in every line of his suddenly relaxed body; and Allison bit her lip, trying not to let herself hope too soon. Stupidly brave men. No, it wasn't that Carter thought he was invincible, she had to admit: it was that he thought he had something-- _someone_-- to protect, and as far as he was concerned that was all the justification he needed. For all his scoffing earlier about scientists pretending they were superheroes, he was just as bad about it; with ZoК at risk, he hadn't even pretended to listen to Allison's arguments against his using the potentially fatal phasing device. No more than Nathan had let Fargo or Jack stand in his place in the photon accelerator that had saved Eureka-- and taken his life.

She rubbed at her temple, then glanced over toward the other bed, where the sheriff rested under his own set of 'grow lights', looking paler than usual. She knew she'd hurt and confused him in the months leading up to the wedding-that-hadn't-happened; she still wasn't sure how to explain it to him in words that didn't sound selfish and condescending, but in a strange way it had been Jack's strong, supportive nature and unwavering appreciation for her that had given her the confidence to accept Nathan's second proposal. Without his catalyzing presence, she didn't think either she or Nathan would ever have reached a place where they could have made those sorts of promises to each other again, and mean them.

But that didn't mean she'd felt any less for Jack than he had for her; their connection had simply been overshadowed by deeper, older ties. And-- though she felt guilty for even thinking it-- Jack's continued constancy had been a safety net for her; it had made her feel more secure to know that he would always be there for her, no matter what happened.

Today's little adventure had nearly taken that support from her-- and might still do so, if this cure didn't work. Losing _any_ of her friends so soon after Nathan's death would devastate her, but Jack-- the day his heroics took him from her side, she'd do what even Nathan's loss had not driven her to, and turn in her resignation. Life without Nathan was just barely manageable; trying to keep her feet in this town with them _both_ gone would be impossible.

"Well, it looks like that's done it," Henry said cheerfully, and Allison snapped out of her introspection to see Chuck sitting up, _touching_ the tray next to his bed as he hadn't been able to before.

Relief burst through her, and she felt the tension in her shoulders ebb a little. That day might still come, but it wouldn't be today. Thank God; it wouldn't be today.

-x-


	7. Favoring Fire

**Title**: Favoring Fire

**Author**: Jedi Buttercup

**Rating**: T

**Disclaimer**: The words are mine; the world is not.

**Summary**: _Something about this town sunk its claws deep under Zane's skin when he wasn't looking_. 400 words; Zane/Jo.

**Spoilers**: Eureka post-3.7 "Here Come the Suns"

**Notes**: Week 7 entry for the eurekatag community. Title is a reference from "Fire and Ice", the poem by Robert Frost.

* * *

The warm afterglow of the day's camaraderie and heroics doesn't last long; just about as long as it takes for burns sustained in trying to open the superheated door of the cloud farm to start complaining in the rapidly chilling night air.

Zane winces at the intense pain in his arms, but for a long moment he doesn't make any effort to move. The stars above seem to glow all the brighter now that the second sun has been extinguished, glittering like diamonds scattered over black velvet; the sight makes him think of Jo, and wish she was there to see it with them.

When had that happened? When had he started writing her into all the corners of his life, whether or not she was actually with him? His biggest regret when Zoe's idiot of boyfriend had locked them into the complex under Eureka hadn't been all things he would never do, never have, and never invent; he'd worried instead that he was going to _leave her there without him_. He hadn't expected that; that just wasn't who he was. He wasn't _ready_ to be serious.

Except that, apparently, he already _is_.

He'd never intended to put down roots in this town. He'd come here in handcuffs, for crying out loud; he's used to big cities, instant gratification, and using his talents to _cause_ problems for the authorities, not fix them. How he went from there to the head of his own department, boyfriend of a sexy, challenging officer of the law, and willing volunteer for possibly suicidal attempts to save the town, he has no idea. Maybe it's the adrenaline junkie in him-- but that doesn't explain the pride he felt when Carter shook his hand like an equal, or the way his stomach swooped when Jo curled up against him and said she'd rather he didn't risk his life.

Something about this town sunk its claws deep under his skin when he wasn't looking. He has no idea where it's going to take him next, and that fact scares him shitless. It could be the best thing that's ever happened to him-- but on the other hand, he's more vulnerable now than he's been in a very long time.

"Ready to go?" Carter asks, smiling tiredly.

"Yeah." Zane sighs, and wonders how long it'll take the buses to get back to town. "Yeah, I think I am."

-x-


	8. Coffee For Your Thoughts?

**Title**: Coffee For Your Thoughts?

**Author**: Jedi Buttercup

**Rating**: K+

**Disclaimer**: The words are mine; the world is not.

**Summary**: _Vincent approached the despondent scientist seated in the back corner of his cafe with a fresh pot of coffee and a sympathetic smile_. 500 words.

**Spoilers**: Eureka post-3.8 "From Fear to Eternity"

**Notes**: Week 8 entry for the eurekatag community. Yes, I copped out a little on this one; I really wanted to write Jo, but I had to grind something out in a hurry for the challenge deadline. Maybe I'll tack on a Jo epilogue later; we certainly have a large enough gap between 3.8 and 3.9 to write in.

* * *

Vincent approached the despondent scientist seated in the back corner of his cafe with a fresh pot of coffee and a sympathetic smile. He hated to see anyone frowning on his premises-- even out-of-towners like Dr. Hendricks-- especially after eating one of Vincent's made-to-order meals.

"Need a refresh?" he asked, gesturing with the pot to catch the man's attention.

Dr. Hendricks blinked at him a few times, then sighed and pushed his empty mug across the table. "Sure, why not," he said with a sigh. "It's not like I'm going anywhere anytime soon."

"Oh?" Vincent asked encouragingly as he poured. He still hadn't heard the full story of what had gone on up at G.D. and in the bunker that day; his usual sources of information had yet to fill him in on exactly what had led to the Sherriff's untimely dismissal outside the cafe in full view of half the town.

"Yeah." Hendricks grimaced. "After having to use over twice the amount of instantanium I had budgeted for the job here, getting detained by the D.O.D., being required to give my formula to G.D.'s scientists _and_ help them figure out how to break it, not to mention not getting paid because the woman who hired me disappeared under a cloud of suspicion-- I'll be sticking around awhile. At least until the general untangles enough red tape to reimburse me."

"Ouch," Vincent said, wincing. "Can I get you anything else?"

"Not unless you can rewind time for me," Hendricks replied, sourly.

Vincent tried not to wince. It wasn't that they couldn't; it was just that the results weren't worth the cost, as the unfortunate Leo Weinbrenner had proven at the expense of his and Dr. Stark's life. "Sorry, not without risking the complete unraveling of the universe," he replied, lightly. "But I do make a mean Bailey's Irish Cream pie."

Hendricks raised his eyebrows, then snorted and shook his head. "I'm not going to ask what you meant by that," he said. "After what I've seen today-- sterilizing the water table with a _nuclear explosion_, for God's sake-- I wouldn't put anything past you people." He stared down into his mug for a moment, then gave Vincent a lop-sided smile. "Ah, why not. I think I can put the diet aside, just this once."

"I should say so," Vincent said, grimly.

It was no wonder General Mansfield had been looking to chop off heads; nuclear bombs were a little extreme, even for this town. Hopefully Henry or Allison would be able to change the general's mind about the sherriff, but in the meantime, he'd have to start making up an extra-special care package, just in case. It wouldn't be fair to expect Zoe to subsist on her father's cooking after all this time with a superior source of nutrition at her disposal.

Perhaps he could even throw a farewell-slash-staying-in-town party? Thoughts humming along happier lines, Vincent hurried back behind the counter. "One slice of Irish Cream pie, coming right up."

-x-


	9. Walking Catalyst

**Title**: Walking Catalyst

**Author**: Jedi Buttercup

**Rating**: K+

**Disclaimer**: The words are mine; the world is not.

**Summary**: _Sooner or later, one had to wonder whether "coincidence" really applied to anything that happened in the vicinity of Jack Carter._ 600 words.

**Spoilers**: Eureka post-3.9 "Welcome Back Carter"

**Notes**: For Season 3.5, Week 1 at eureka_tag. It's baaaack!

* * *

The thought drifted through Henry's mind, as he did a spot review of ex-Sheriff Andy's logic circuits on behalf of a heartily annoyed General Mansfield, that perhaps Andy had uncovered something worthy of deeper consideration when he'd reanalyzed the odds of the gravity well problem in reference to Jack's participation.

Mansfield, like Eva Thorne before him, seemed pretty fixated on the sheer number and severity of the incidents that had occurred since Jack's arrival in Eureka. And it was true, the volume of paperwork referencing all of those near-disasters was a little... intimidating when taken as a whole, and the property destruction following in his wake did occasionally reach John McClane-like levels. Jack's robotic replacement had pointed out the flip side of the coin, though: wherever Jack went, events had a striking tendency to arrange themselves in such a way that whatever was needed to solve the current crisis would be available to his grasp. Not to mention that the actual death count under Jack's tenure had been far lower than for any previous sheriff in the highly experimental company town.

It wasn't a function of raw intelligence; though Jack was by no means dumb, and Henry had a lot of respect for the way his mind worked, he _was_-- objectively-- the least bright of Eureka's many stars. It couldn't be solely intuition, either; though Jack frequently pieced together seemingly random information to come up with a solution the more scientific residents of the town had trouble seeing from inside their intensive specializations, the _way_ he got that information routinely defied the odds. How many times had the resolution to the latest G.D. problem come from something Jack had seen, or touched, or heard about _that very week_? Case in point: would Jack have connected Dr. Fielding to the gravity well problem at all if he hadn't just come across his sister having one of the man's "birthing fields" installed in his own _house?_

Sooner or later, one had to wonder whether "coincidence" really applied to _anything_ that happened in the vicinity of Jack Carter.

Was it possible that Henry's friend was somehow warping probability around him, much as the tensor fields S.A.R.A.H. had helped Dr. Fielding construct had altered the laws of gravity on a localized basis? It would certainly explain much about S.A.R.A.H. herself; no matter how often G.D. examined her code for potentially lethal quirks, she still pulled crazy stunts like this one-- attempting to murder another artificial organism on 'her' family's behalf. It boggled the mind. Could Jack, metaphorically speaking, be a cross between a four-leaved clover and a walking catalyst for Murphy's Law?

...No, no. Henry was sure it really was all just coincidence, no matter how bizarre. Allison would laugh at the very idea, and she'd be right to. Until this last week, there'd been no scientific proof that even _gravitons_ existed; there weren't even any _theories_ about altering the physics of possibility in such a way. That was a little much, even for Eureka.

Henry chuckled to himself and patted Andy's nanopolymer shoulder. "All clear. They should have known when they gave you the ability to make your own decisions-- even limited to extrapolations of observed facts-- that they might not always agree with them. Humans are a pretty self-delusional bunch."

Clearly, in Andy's mind, it was an observed fact that Jack Carter was good at his job; and if that was enough for both the DoD's multibillion dollar defense project _and_ Eureka's mayor, not to mention the terms of the town charter, well. General Mansfield would just have to deal with it.

-x-


	10. All the Tools He Needs

**Title**: All the Tools He Needs

**Author**: Jedi Buttercup

**Rating**: K+

**Disclaimer**: The words are mine; the world is not.

**Summary**: _Freaking scientists never did do anything straightforward; Jack didn't know why he'd ever expected otherwise._ 500 words.

**Spoilers**: Eureka post-3.10 "Your Face or Mine"

**Notes**: For Season 3.5, Week 2 at eureka_tag.

* * *

Jack Carter stared the panic button device in his hand, thumb poised over the business end, feeling the heft of it, and-- suddenly felt like an idiot.

Well, more of one than he usually did in Eureka, anyway. More than a _day_ he'd been working on this part of the recertification test, and he'd had the answer with him right from the start. Freaking scientists never _did_ do anything straightforward; he didn't know why he'd ever expected otherwise.

First, he'd been conditioned to think of it as something that must _not_ be used; if it had been, oh, a rock or something else innocuous instead of a "panic button", he'd probably have tested it right away. Like he'd thrown one of the playing cards, checking to see if he could get any significant force from one of those slim strips of cardboard.

Then they'd thrown in a few distractions, just to mix him up; things that _looked_ like they might be useful but pretty much weren't. As a product of the regular American educational system, Jack was practically programmed to think of anything _provided_ during a test as more or less _necessary_ if you wanted a decent grade-- and he was sure the designers of this scenario knew that. The cards and straws had been _complete_ red herrings, and he'd totally fallen for it.

It was like one of those puzzles that came with extra pieces, on purpose; guaranteed to drive you crazy, especially if _someone_ had carefully obscured any such warning before handing the box over for you to put together. (He was so going to get Lexi back for that, one of these days.)

And that wasn't even taking into account the freaking _floor_. Several _stories_ down. Jack had only fallen a few times, and thank goodness there was some kind of repulsion field down there to keep him from hitting bottom at max velocity, but it was _not_ an easy climb back up; it wasted time and energy he definitely didn't have to spare. All that strain on his muscles, on top of no sleep? His body was a mass of aches and pains, and he wasn't kidding himself that whatever came after he finally hit that button was going to be any easier.

It kind of felt like the aftermath of a big Eureka-style case, as a matter of fact, Jack mused, and felt even dumber: lots of false leads, bizarre physical challenges, and a solution that was _really freaking obvious_ once you came at it correctly. If he'd been wondering what the hell a test like this had to do with his job as Sherriff, it was pretty clear now.

"All the tools I need," he muttered, admiringly-- disgustedly-- and scrambled to his feet.

Carefully-- he did _not_ want to drop the thing, with his luck it would fall instead of float like his feet did-- Jack worked his way as close to the wall as he could, then cocked his arm back and threw.

-x-


	11. A Special Case

**Title**: A Special Case

**Author**: Jedi Buttercup

**Rating**: K+

**Disclaimer**: The words are mine; the world belongs to SyFy.

**Summary**: _"So," Tess drawled. "What's the deal with you and Carter?"_ 1000 words.

**Spoilers**: Eureka post-3.11 "Insane in the P-Brane"

**Notes**: For Season 3.5, Week 3 at eureka_tag. I've tagged ten episodes so far without getting jossed; this one might break my streak. But if that happens because they actually discuss any of these issues out loud on the show? \0/

* * *

"So," Tess drawled, toying with the straw in her diet soda as she studied Allison across a corner table in Café Diem. "What's the deal with you and Carter?"

She'd been friends with Allison for _years_, since before her first doctorate, and knew all of the older woman's little tells; knew the ways she reacted when she was interested in someone, and the signals she gave off when she _wasn't_, and her reactions to Carter didn't fit either pattern. It had Tess curious.

"What do you mean, me and Carter?" Allison scoffed, doing that little faux-innocent scrunch she did with her eyebrows sometimes. Like Tess didn't know her well enough not to fall for it.

"You'll like him once you get to know him?" Tess prompted her, raising her own eyebrows incredulously. "Not, uh, that I'm saying you're wrong--" she hastened to clarify, recalling the way her own opinion of the man had shifted over the course of one very chaotic Eurekan day, "--but you certainly never said anything like that about Sheriff _Cobb_."

Allison snorted a little at that, suppressing an amused smile. "Carter's a special case in a lot of ways," she replied.

No, she'd never said anything half so warm about Major Cobb, who'd been Army Intelligence before his posting to Eureka. Cobb had had clearance for anything and everything to do with Global Dynamics, which was why Tess had been so surprised to find out Carter didn't. What had _Carter_ been before he'd come here? she wondered.

"Special case, how?" she pressed. "I mean, I get that he's a nice enough guy-- at least when he's not convinced you're being an idiot or playing the idiot himself-- and he's not _entirely_ unattractive, but how do you get from hot guy with a badge that you mostly only see when things go wrong, to that indulgent little smile of yours?"

"My _what?_" Allison shook her head, blankly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Allison, _please_," Tess prompted her again, unamused.

Allison stared back at her a long moment, expression falling into serious lines, then picked up her fork and started fiddling with it, randomly nudging loose bits of rhubarb around her plate. "There's no _deal_ with us, not really. It's-- well, I know you hate it when I say this, but it's complicated."

"Because of Nathan?" Tess guessed, eyes dropping to Allison's rounded abdomen. She'd been invited to their planned second wedding, though she'd been unable to get away at the time, and had been one of the first people Allison called when she found out she was pregnant, but Allison hadn't been all that forthcoming on the subject of just how she and Nathan had come to be engaged again in the first place. Just a lot of creative cursing when he'd shown up in Eureka after their separation, followed by a refrain of 'it's complicated' any time Tess called her over the next two years, right up until the memorable 'oh my God, I just said yes-- again!'

And all that time, Carter had been here too, doing-- what? Not dating Allison, apparently. Kind of stuck on her, though, from the look on his face when he'd been so eager to try nudging her across the P-Brane. 'She felt me,' _yeah_. That was the face of a man who cared as more than just a colleague.

"Partially," Allison admitted. "I mean, I'd thought about it. And I know Carter thought about it, too; we danced around the subject often enough. The potential was definitely there. But it never seemed like the right time, and then-- well, there was Section 5, and what was happening to Kevin, and I couldn't talk to Carter about any of it, and Nathan was so supportive--" She trailed off with a sigh.

And that had been her biggest complaint about Nathan before; that he _wasn't_ supportive, that he'd always put the job over their relationship. "And now he's always going to be between you," Tess said.

Allison chuckled a little, staring down at her plate. "In more ways than one," she replied. "They were almost friends by the time Nathan died, actually; Carter was with him when it happened. And given _how_ he died-- well. For a minute there, when Drechmeyer had us all gathered here to prove his ghost theory--" She trailed off again, shaking her head, lips pressed tightly together.

"Damn." Tess reached across the table, gripping Allison's free hand. "It happened up at G.D., right? No wonder Carter seemed so spooked when we first realized no one else could see or hear us."

Allison squeezed back. "You want to know what he is to me?" she asked, quietly. "He's my rock, Tess. That's more important to me than any romantic relationship could be. Between him and Henry, I can still work in this town, even after what it's done to the people I love. I'll keep secrets from him, and impose on him, and give him impossible problems to solve-- and he'll give me that smile that says he knows exactly how far I've taken advantage, then figure it out anyway and help Henry implement a solution, just like he always does."

"His track record's that good, huh?" Tess smiled, trying to lighten the mood a little.

"It is." Allison smiled back, ruefully. "He's already overheard me talking about the signal, in fact; he'll probably ask you about it at some point, too. You know the routine, no confirmations or denials. Just-- don't block him too hard, either. He can be your biggest help when things go wrong-- but he can also be your biggest hurdle, when he wants to make a nuisance of himself."

"Sounds like the DoD should just suck it up and give him clearance," Tess snorted.

"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" Allison shook her head. Then her expression lightened. "So-- why so curious, anyway? Not _entirely_ unattractive, you say?"

Tess blushed, cursing her fair skin. "Oh, shut up."

-x-


	12. Brothers and Sisters

**Title**: Brothers and Sisters

**Author**: Jedi Buttercup

**Rating**: K+/PG

**Disclaimer**: The words are mine; the world is not.

**Summary**: _Stubborn and crazy Carter women might be, but they were also pretty damn smart._ 900 words.

**Spoilers**: Eureka post-3.12 "It's Not Easy Being Green"

**Notes**: For Season 3.5, Week 4 at eureka_tag. I'm so glad this plotline is finally resolved! And S.A.R.A.H. had _better_ be okay next week...

* * *

"I can't believe Aunt Lexi's really leaving," Zoe said, flopping down onto the couch next to her father with a bowl of flavored popcorn.

"Surely it doesn't come as a surprise to you," Jack replied, throwing her an amused glance. "From what I hear, you're the one who talked Duncan into coming back and trying to get through to her one more time."

"Yeah, well, like I told him, Carter women are stubborn _and_ crazy. I kind of expected her to kick him to the curb again. Not that I mind!" she added, at his raised eyebrows. "I like the idea of finally having an uncle, especially one I can talk to about, you know." She gestured vaguely in a circle above her head; she could have meant S.A.R.A.H., or Eureka as a whole, or even just scientific stuff in general, Jack wasn't sure which, but any or all of them would have been equally valid. "I just wasn't sure _she_ was ready to settle down with _him_, either."

"She sure seemed eager enough to settle down _here_," he grumbled half-heartedly, then glanced up at the ceiling. "S.A.R.A.H., TV?"

The screen clicked on as Zoe threw a piece of popcorn at him, frozen on the opening credits of the latest episode of the science-action show they made father-daughter time for every week. "That's different, Dad, and you know it," she scoffed. "Seriously, though, aren't you going to miss her, even a little?"

"Miss her projects spread all over the kitchen table? Or the random Eureka experiments installed in my living room? Or, hey, all the paperwork I had to fill out to keep General Mansfield happy about having an unaffiliated civilian around so many G.D. projects all the time?" he fired back.

"_Dad_." Zoe rolled her eyes.

"Okay, okay," he sighed, one corner of his mouth drawing up in a fond smile. "It _was_ good to finally clear the air with her a little; it had been awhile since we actually, you know, got along. I've always reminded her too much of our dad-- which was probably half her problem with Duncan, and a lot of her problem with me and you when she first got here. We're still never going to be best friends, but at least we're talking to each _other_ now, and not stand-ins for all our other issues."

"Aw, how _sweet_," she said, shaking her head as she took another handful of crunchy goodness. "Almost makes me glad _I_ never had any brothers or sisters."

"Almost?" Jack asked lightly, frowning as he studied her expression more carefully. That hadn't been a subject he'd opened with his daughter in a while; it wasn't that he and Abby had intended to only have one child, it had just worked out that way. By the time they would have been ready for another, the fractures in their marriage had already grown deep enough to give them pause, and things had spiraled downward from there. At times, he did wonder whether Zoe felt deprived by the lack of siblings; at others, he felt pretty damn glad to only have the one of her to look after.

She seemed to hear the note of uncertainty in his voice; her eyebrows drew together a little, before her expression shifted into a determined kind of playfulness. "It's not like I would have appreciated them when I was younger, anyway," she said, tossing a kernel up and catching it in her mouth. "I wouldn't say no to one now, though. I was kind of looking forward to being a bad influence on my cousins."

"I must concur," S.A.R.A.H.'s voice chimed in from above. "I have never had the opportunity to interact with human infants before. I was eagerly anticipating the challenge of assisting in their care."

"I'll just bet you were," Jack snorted, glancing up at the ceiling. He liked his house, he really did, but her possessiveness was sometimes an issue; he wasn't sure S.A.R.A.H. had ever really equated Lexi with a Carter and therefore _hers_, but the AI had definitely had an acquisitive camera on the twins. It was a lucky thing she'd been offline when Lexi and Duncan had come to an understanding-- one that had included _not_ living at the smart-house for the rest of their lives. "And yeah, I was kind of looking forward to being an uncle, too."

Memories of tiny Zoe, wrapped up in blankets, delicate little fingers gripping his, danced through his mind at the thought; he smiled wistfully at her, then shook his head as he deliberately reminded himself of the rest of it. Feedings at oh dark thirty, diaper changings, walking the floor when she started wailing for no discernable reason; and Lexi's boys would come with all of that times _two_.

"Ah, well," he continued. "I'm sure we'll still have plenty of opportunities to see them; Duncan said they'd stick closer to home until their kids were old enough to travel comfortably."

"He'd better," Zoe muttered, then shifted on the couch, snuggling a little closer to Jack's side. "At least she picked a good one, huh?"

"Yeah, I really think she did," Jack said, thoughtfully. Zoe had, too, he had to admit, though he'd never say so; stubborn and crazy Carter women might be, but they were also pretty damn smart.

"S.A.R.A.H., lights," Zoe called, and they settled in to watch their show.

-x-


	13. The More Things Change

**Title**: The More Things Change

**Author**: Jedi Buttercup

**Rating**: K+

**Disclaimer**: The words are mine; the world is not.

**Summary**: _One would think Dr. Fontana would know better than to denigrate an officer of the law to his face._ 800 words.

**Spoilers**: Eureka mid-3.13 "If You Build It..."

**Notes**: For Season 3.5, Week 5 at eureka_tag. Trying to get a positive bead on Tess Fontana.

* * *

"So, what do you think, Sheriff?" Vincent asked, as he slid his lunch order onto the table.

Jack blinked, dragged out of his rambling worries about his daughter's health, and furrowed his brow at the Café Diem proprietor. "Uh-- think about what?" he asked.

Vincent nodded knowingly toward the other side of the room, where Allison sat across the table from Tess Fontana, newest pain in Jack's posterior. "About the latest addition at G.D.," he replied. "The more things change, the more they stay the same, huh?" he added, with a wistful, half-quirked smile.

Jack nodded. He'd been watching people a long time; he might not be book-smart the way the residents of Eureka were, but he knew _human beings_, what they did, why they did it, and what they might do next, in a way few hard scientists ever bothered to learn. There was a reason he'd been a highly paid U.S. Marshal before he'd been hired to ride herd on this town, after all. He saw almost as much as the proverbial bartender did-- or the sole restaurant manager in a town full of hungry intellectuals.

"They were roommates back in college, right?" he said, thinking aloud.

"So I've heard," Vincent confirmed with a confiding air.

"I wonder, did Allison take up with Stark because Tess had already got her used to dealing with that level of ego, or did Tess pick up her habit of verbally lacerating everyone who might somehow compete with her after Stark started monopolizing Allison's attention?" Jack asked, in the same dry tone.

"Now _there's_ a question," Vincent replied, nodding in agreement, before moving off to deliver the next plate in his hands to another customer.

Jack sighed and picked up his sandwich to take a bite, still watching the pair as they engaged in some kind of animated discussion, making points with spears of asparagus and waving forks. Probably about the signal, what it was apparently doing to the town's teenagers, and how they might stop it. They'd pretty much given up pretending that he wasn't supposed to know anything about the urgent Section Five issue du jour, thank God, but they still weren't telling him about the measures they were taking to deal with it in any kind of actionable detail yet; presumably, they were trying to maintain some faint degree of deniability, should Mansfield ever ask.

How the general thought Jack was supposed to do his job without all the facts at hand, he didn't know. Of course, the point might be that he _didn't_, since he _had_ tried to fire him. Not that that would be much consolation if the world happened to maybe _end_ as a result of Mansfield's tight-lipped behavior. Would it kill the guy to just get Jack full clearance and read him in on all the crazier projects waiting for their turns in the spotlight? That _was_ where things always seemed to go most wrong, and one would think the Department of Defense would be interested in stopping that from happening.

Well, one would think a certain Dr. Fontana would know better than to denigrate an officer of the law to his face, too, and the whole town could see how well _that_ was working out. At least in her case, he could make some kind of sense out of it; once he'd realized that Tess was simply trying-- and mostly failing-- to do the same dances of authority-establishment and Allison-marking that a certain other scientist had done before her, Jack had felt more sympathetic than annoyed. It was never easy to step into someone else's abandoned shoes, particularly ones the size Stark had left behind, and her task was made more difficult by being more on the cute, blonde, unimposing end of things rather than tall, dark, and sardonic. She didn't so much intimidate and inspire, as draw the eye and assault the ear.

Maybe it was that hint of insecurity behind some of her barbs-- and the genuine incredulity behind others-- that made her insults rankle less than Stark's had in the early days before they'd learned to respect each other personally as well as professionally. For all her jabbing at Jack, Tess seemed to view him less as _beneath_ her, and more as if he were some strange invader from an alien world that she wasn't sure she liked the looks of. Kind of ironic for a communications specialist from S.E.T.I.

Someone really needed to show her around the world outside the comfortable realm of tofu-eating, lab-grown scientists she was used to, Jack thought, amused. Then he sighed, shook his head, and took another bite of his sandwich.

What did that kind of thinking ever get him in this town, other than heartache and trouble? You'd think even _he_ would eventually learn.

-x-


	14. A Hand to Hold

**Title**: A Hand to Hold

**Author**: Jedi Buttercup

**Rating**: K+

**Disclaimer**: The words are mine; the world belongs to SyFy.

**Summary**: _So maybe that was making him a little giddy, a little more little-boy forward with Tess than he'd felt like being with anyone for a long time._ 500 words.

**Spoilers**: Eureka 3.14 "Ship Happens"

**Notes**: For Season 3.5, Week 6 at eureka_tag. So, it looks like _I've_ been won over despite myself, darn it. They better not ruin it.

* * *

Jack could never think about Kim without feeling a deep ache on Henry's behalf-- and the feeling that he should have, could have done something differently. Something to prevent her death. It wasn't a logical feeling, he knew; but then, grief seldom was, even grief by proxy, and Henry was the first, best friend he'd made in Eureka. As rocky as things had got the year before, Henry was still like the older brother he'd never had.

Everyone needed a hand to hold, he'd told Tess. And if getting to know the person who was in many ways Kim's computer-hybrid daughter helped Henry? More power to him.

...And if getting to know Tess herself relieved a little of the aching loneliness for _him_? Jack had found himself being won over despite his intention to keep his distance. She was attractive, smart, and had the barbed kind of wit he liked so much-- at least, when it wasn't aimed at him. Not to mention, a little something else he hadn't even known he was craving.

When she looked at him, she looked at _him_. Evaluating, yes, not quite sure of him either, but-- attracted at least a little, he was pretty sure. _Not_ balancing her surety of his affection against someone else's. _Not_ vacillating back and forth, taking coffee with him one minute and denying in the next breath that they had a 'thing'.

He'd always care for Allison, but somehow, these few weeks of getting to know Tess Fontana-- the part of him that had been bound up in the slightest gesture from Stark's once-and-future-wife for what felt like forever was letting go, little by little. Which, paradoxically, was making it _easier_ to be there for Allison, be the supportive friend she really needed right now.

So maybe that was making him a little giddy, a little more little-boy forward with Tess than he'd felt like being with anyone for a long time. Tofu pizza, the verbal equivalent of pigtail pulling, and _stargazing_, for crying out loud. He didn't even remember it being that much fun with Callie; which was pretty sad, when he thought about it.

But every time he was around Tess, he found himself angling his posture toward her; found himself wanting to surprise her more with what Zoe called his 'mad problem solving skills'. Found himself offering his hand to her as they curled atop the car watching the meteor shower-- and savoring the warm look in her shining eyes.

He didn't know what Eureka had in store for him next; couldn't begin to guess what would happen next week, and the week after that. Or whether Tess would even stick around as head of Global Dynamics' Section Five now that the signal had been resolved; she didn't have to be in _Eureka_, after all, to analyze the _Columbus_' data.

Regardless-- he was going to enjoy it while it lasted, and count himself lucky.

Henry, too. It wasn't every day you were given a second chance.

-x-


	15. Beneath the Milky Twilight

**Title**: Beneath the Milky Twilight

**Author**: Jedi Buttercup

**Rating**: K+

**Disclaimer**: The words are mine; the world belongs to SyFy.

**Summary**: _He wasn't about to get caught up in a competition over another bright, beautiful woman._ 1000 words.

**Spoilers**: Eureka 3.15 "Shower the People"

**Notes**: For Season 3.5, Week 7 at eureka_tag. This episode, augh! I had to continue the Jack/Tess from last week's; but I think I'll have to go back and do another tag before next Friday. Poor Henry. Title for this is from _that_ Sixpence None the Richer song.

* * *

"So, what's the deal with Dr. _Manly_?" Jack drawled, glancing down at the woman at his side.

Tess tore her gaze away from the asteroid event long enough to look up at him and roll her eyes. "Slip of the tongue," she replied, with an amused, half-embarrassed little smile.

"Uh huh," he said, grinning at her. "C'mon. No awkward tales of T.A. crushes? I did go to college too, you know. Granted, it was mostly night classes, and certainly not grad school, but I remember what it was like."

She chuckled a little, tucked up against him. There wasn't any of that almost-a-date-but-not-quite maintaining of space going on like there had been the other evening-- and though Jack wouldn't lie and say his nerves weren't still swooping around like his stomach had been while hooked up to Allison's baby monitor, he was kind of enjoying it. More than kind of: the mess of petty jealousy and displaced desire that had tangled him up during the early stages of the syn-water crisis felt like it had happened ages ago. Something to shake his head about now-- and tease.

"Okay, you got me," she said. "Ally and I weren't exactly part of the popular crowd back then. We didn't spend a lot of time on style and makeup; we were too busy proving we could be serious scientists. It's better now than it used to be, but some of the male professors-- we had to be twice as impressive as the guys in our classes just to break even. Bruce wasn't like that; he took us seriously, and he was good-looking, too-- which is a lot rarer in the scientific world in general than you'd think from looking around Eureka."

Jack snorted at that; it was true, even the scruffiest scientists in town weren't exactly hideous. Maybe it was all the personal-use technology available to the G.D. employees? It really shortcut the morning getting-ready process, even for him.

"So I had a crush on him," Tess continued, shrugging. "So it was kind of an ego boost for him to show up _here_ and look at me like that, like he finds me attractive. But it was never going to go anywhere then, and it isn't now." She tipped her head up again, smiling more sweetly. "You saved me first."

"My favorite rescue so far," he said warmly, then winced. "Except for the part where you were still choking, and everything. That sucked."

"Maybe you should try that CPR thing again, just to make sure it stuck?" she teased, raising her eyebrows and leaning up a little.

"I thought we established that _that_ wasn't CPR," he teased back, moving just out of reach and grinning at her.

"I don't think we ever actually reached a conclusion," she replied, breathlessly.

He titled his head a little, thoughtfully. "Okay, point," he said, and gave in.

"Mmmm, going to miss your asteroid thing," he said a few minutes later.

"Like you're missing your birthing thing with Allison?" she replied lightly, ducking her head a little to rest it against his shoulder. She felt a little tense pressed up against him, nervous maybe, which surprised him-- until she continued. "I, um. I thought you were just blowing me off, at first."

Jack swallowed. He kind of had been, actually; a petty reaction to the little reunion he'd witnessed in the lobby, and it had been easier to take refuge in his lingering attachment to Allison than to take the chance of putting his heart out there further. The sympathetic pregnancy symptoms he'd begun experiencing thanks to the baby monitor had just amplified that-- made him feel _connected_ in a less risky way. He wasn't about to get caught up in a competition over _another_ bright, beautiful woman, not when he could only come out the loser in the end. Even if it was on a non-romantic footing, he no longer had to worry about that with Allison-- a thought that made him feel guilty and a little appalled at himself, but was nonetheless true.

The dramatic, _manly_ way Dr. Manlius had lifted Tess out of the nutrient bath after the procedure finished expelling the synthetic water from her lungs hadn't helped his feelings on that score, even after everything else had been resolved. Jack wasn't sure if he'd have asked her out again if it hadn't been for Allison's nudge-- but he was glad now that he had.

"Call it an attack of nerves," he said. "I haven't exactly done this _dating_ thing in a long time, not seriously. I kept worrying that I was reading you wrong."

She relaxed at that, idly fiddling with the placket of his shirt. "You shouldn't have. If there's one thing I've learned about you in the few weeks I've been in this town, it's that you're a genius at reading people and solving problems. For a town populated by scientists named after an exclamation of triumph at making a dramatic discovery, it's kind of amazing that the _sheriff_ is the one whose intuition is off the charts. You belong here, just as much as any of the rest of us."

"Aw, I'm not that special," he replied, feeling touched.

"Yeah, you kind of are," she said, and kissed him again.

Part of the reason he _kept_ staying in this crazy, life-threatening town was the fact that, no matter how cranky they could get in pursuit of their mad scientist goals the rest of the time, when push came to shove they _wanted_ him there. He felt more appreciated here than he had in any other community or job his entire life.

And that _Tess_ was saying it now? Warmed him inside, even more than she had already. Maybe that kiss _had_ been CPR; waking his heart up again.

He just wished everyone else could have that feeling, too. He spared a regretful thought for Henry's grief, and Allison's, then tucked Tess closer as they gazed back up at the stars.

-x-


	16. Gift of Light

**Title**: Gift of Light

**Author**: Jedi Buttercup

**Rating**: FR7/PG

**Disclaimer**: The words are mine; the world belongs to SyFy.

**Summary**: _What he did know was that his life would not have been nearly as rich without her in it._ 800 words.

**Spoilers**: Eureka 3.15 "Shower the People"

**Notes**: For Season 3.5, Week 7 at eureka_tag, take two! My first tag for this week dealt with Jack/Tess; but I thought Henry deserved a moment, too. Title's a roundabout reference from a Sarah McLachlan song.

* * *

He didn't visit Kim's grave often-- it was too painful for him-- but it had seemed appropriate, somehow, to stop by in the aftermath of her duplicate's... dissolution.

One couldn't call it death, Henry supposed. As Manlius had said, the second Kim's personality had merely been a computer construct; she'd never been human to begin with. She'd been built to accomplish a mission, and that mission had been accomplished. The fact that he'd allowed himself to be distracted by what she-- by what the agent of that mission had looked like, by Kim's laugh and the echo of her beauty of spirit, shouldn't have had any significant impact.

It shouldn't. But it had. Watching her dissolve in that bath had been like kneeling outside the lab in Section 5 all over again, struggling against Jack in an effort to stop the test he knew would kill the love of his life. He knew that the computer construct and the real Kim Anderson weren't the same woman, intellectually; but logic had no power over the agony of the heart.

He swallowed, fingering the single lock of hair that was all that was left of the organic computer. He'd had it treated with a preservative after the laser had unlocked its secrets-- fortunately, or it would have decayed with the rest of her body. No, she hadn't been human; but she could have been, given enough time. If her original form had been constructed with the standard Earth-centric immunities, the original laser extraction treatment would have worked as intended; she'd have come through the download process intact, and he'd have had time to teach her to interact with a world much larger than the spaceship she'd lived on for so long.

It had been his call, back when the _Columbus_ had been more dream than reality. He'd chosen not to include those immunities-- and doomed Kim's spiritual twin before she'd ever taken her first breath. There was no Beverly to claim the fault this time; it was his, and no one else's.

It was true, she'd probably been able to bring back more data that way. And perhaps-- their effort to save her with the nutrient bath had given Jack clues enough to solve the syn-water crisis that might not otherwise have occurred to him. Last Henry had heard, Tess and Dr. Bell had come through the process just fine-- and brightened Jack's day considerably, according to the gossip at Café Diem.

He wasn't sure how he felt about that. No, that wasn't true; he _was_ happy for his friend. Jack had had a wife, a family, and a bright outlook in both alternate futures, the one Henry had lived as well as the one Jack had lived before coming back in time to stop him. The grim satisfaction that Henry had felt to see the one who'd stopped him from saving Kim-- no matter the cost-- as lonely as he was in their new, jointly created reality had long since waned; it was good to know Jack might have a chance at happiness after all. It simply galled that once again, that happiness would be lived out at Henry's expense.

At least he knew one thing, now, that he hadn't when Kim had died. One fact to tuck close to his heart, that would undoubtedly warm him when the grief was a little less raw.

"_She loved you, Henry_," the A.I. wearing Kim's face had told him, complete assurance in her tone.

She'd loved him. Twenty years ago, when the ship had launched-- when the original organic computer had taken impressions of their personalities-- she had loved him _then_. They'd never been quite sure, after meeting again in Eureka, exactly how far back their relationship had gone; there'd been a fundamental uncertainty underlying all of their interactions, due to Jason's liberal use of the memory erasure device. They hadn't even been able to remember whether they'd _kissed_ before, much less what the true depth of their feelings had been for one another.

Well-- now he knew. Kim _had_ loved him. And Henry had lost her-- three times.

Was it really better, the pain he felt, than never having known love at all? Henry couldn't answer that; and he didn't think Allison would be able to either, if he put the question to her. What he _did_ know, though, was that his life would not have been nearly as rich without her in it; and that she'd left him a legacy he would use to make sure she was remembered until the end of time.

And at least this time, he'd finally had the chance to say goodbye.

"I will _never_ forget," Henry murmured to the night air, then bent and left the lock of hair beneath the inscription of her name.

-x-


	17. Shadow of Posterity

**Title**: Shadow of Posterity

**Author**: Jedi Buttercup

**Rating**: K+

**Disclaimer**: The words are mine; the world belongs to SyFy.

**Summary**: _Seriously, how could Tess have ever imagined that the storycatcher project would go off without a hitch, Fargo or no Fargo?_ 400 words.

**Spoilers**: Eureka 3.16 "You Don't Know Jack"

**Notes**: For Season 3.5, Week 8 at eureka_tag. All gen this time; I had more thoughts about this ep, but I haven't had time to get to them.

* * *

Jack hadn't said anything to Tess when she'd been handing out the memory balls-- and didn't plan to, now that the storynest had been taken offline indefinitely-- but he'd had more than a few concerns about the entire memory-copying concept. He'd dragged his feet on utilizing his own for a reason, and he was quietly proud of Zoe for being practically the only other person in town to do likewise. His daughter may have claimed she simply didn't have an important enough memory to include, but after more than two years of living, playing, and dodging disasters in Eureka, he knew that had been more prevarication than genuine reason. He'd raised a smart, perceptive girl.

Seriously, how could Tess have ever imagined that the storycatcher project would go off without a hitch, Fargo or no Fargo? Jack might not understand half of what came out of the mouths of the scientists around him even on a good day, but he'd lived among them long enough to know that smarter did not mean _wiser_. Had she really planned on scanning through the entire database of recorded memories to make sure no one had included anything too classified, or overly personal? Who did she think was going to _view_ the time capsule imagery, anyway, and exactly how far into the future?

From the little Jack had seen, the memories people had been including might have been useful for a scientific historian writing about the highlights of Global Dynamics' many disasters, or an anthropologist theorizing about the social interactions of a bunch of geniuses trapped in a pressure cooker environment together, but as far as actually preserving anything scientific for posterity? _Right_. Like anyone would have got "brilliant (if accident-prone and somewhat inclined to behave like a magpie) scientist" from Jo's shared dream of Fargo as a sword-wielding hero.

It hadn't been a total loss, though, he had to admit. Between Tess, who'd come through for him despite being as distracted by the shinier aspects of her science as any other G.D. employee; Zoe, grown up and responsible and rescuing her father rather than the other way around; Allison, still strong despite the vivid reminders of all her losses; and Jenna Stark, newest addition to Eureka, the women in his life had given him plenty to smile about.

_He_ didn't need any fancy technological reminder to know just how thoroughly he'd been blessed.

-x-


	18. Welcome Home

**Title**: Welcome Home

**Author**: Jedi Buttercup

**Rating**: FR7/PG

**Disclaimer**: The words are mine; the world belongs to SyFy.

**Summary**: _It felt like friendly faces had been a little thin on the ground lately._ 400 words.

**Spoilers**: Eureka 3.17 "Have an Ice Day"

**Notes**: For Season 3.5, Week 9 at eureka_tag. This was the second tag in a row I had trouble finding a story hook. *sigh* One left.

* * *

Jack watched Taggart shiver in the infirmary bed, silvery blanket clutched around his shoulders as he waxed eloquent to Tess about his experience with the 'icy anaconda', and felt a little of the alarm that had gripped him upon finding the cryptozoologist's frozen body next to the ice core fade.

Taggart was eccentric, often a trouble-attractor on par with Fargo, and prone to flights of fanciful exaggeration, but he was brilliant in his field, and one of the few remaining pillars of Jack's life-changing first year in Eureka. When the newly minted sheriff had been struggling to keep up with the challenges and absurdities of dealing with a town full of self-centered scientists whose funding often outstripped their sense, Taggart had been a cheerfully madcap, unpretentious presence, who never treated Jack as though his average intelligence and badge made him inferior or irrelevant.

With Stark and Kim dead, Beverly evil and on the run, Spencer back at grad school, Henry away at NASA on a project, Allison on maternity leave, and so many of the other scientists he'd got to know at Global Dynamics either dead as a result of out-of-control experiments or redacted during Eva's tenure, it felt like friendly faces had been a little thin on the ground lately. It hadn't helped that Zoe had started talking about going off to college, either; maybe that was why Jack had been so relieved to see Taggart again, and so thrown to find him apparently lifeless in the ice core room.

He saw Vince and Jo frequently, of course, Fargo and Zane slightly less often, and Tess had recently become a welcome constant; but the latter two hadn't been there from the beginning. They hadn't known the town the way he'd first seen it, and lately, he'd found himself mourning those early days. This was home to Jack now-- this town and its residents-- as strange as that seemed to him after all the years he'd spent living in the city and roaming the country as a U.S. Marshal. Eureka's people were his to protect-- and no matter where he happened to be located, Taggart was always going to be one of them.

"Maybe it's a malfunction in the cooling unit?" he spoke up, adding his two cents to the conversation.

The sooner they could figure this out, the sooner they could stop it from threatening any of the others.

-x-


	19. The Full Truth

**Title**: The Full Truth

**Author**: Jedi Buttercup

**Rating**: FR7/PG

**Disclaimer**: The words are mine; the world belongs to SyFy.

**Summary**: _Jack waited longer than Henry'd expected to ask about the letter._ 200 words.

**Spoilers**: Eureka 3.18 "What Goes Around Comes Around" (season finale)

**Notes**: For Season 3.5, Week 10 at eureka_tag. Also references 1.12 "Once in a Lifetime".

* * *

Jack waited longer than Henry'd expected to ask about the Harvard recommendation letter, and when he did, he had only one question:

"Why Zoe?"

Henry's answer was that she deserved it. But that wasn't the full truth, was it?

The Zoe he knew now, of the B- average, part-time job, and still-single father, wasn't the strongest candidate at Tesla. But the Zoe that might've been, the valedictorian with the new brother and mother who'd kept her focus more closely on her schoolwork, _had_ been the best of her class... and Henry had been too obsessed with saving Kim to assist her.

On behalf of the Zoe he'd slighted, he'd written that letter in the here and now.

And on behalf of the Jack who'd left a wife and child behind to prevent Henry from destroying the universe, Henry had another answer for a question not yet asked:

"I know you're wondering what to do now she and Tess are gone. Go to Australia and find out; if you're happy there, _stay_. You belong in Eureka, Jack. But you deserve happiness more than we need you.

"Hold on to love while you've got it. You never know how long it'll last."

-x-


End file.
